The latest votes set up a key Senate race and underscore Trump's continued influence over the Republican Party.
Posted on May 6, 2026
Primary elections in Indiana and Ohio have drawn the final battle lines for the US midterm elections in November, while underscoring Trump's continued influence over Republican voters.
In Ohio, voters on Tuesday chose candidates who will face each other in the next election, with Democrats choosing former Sen. Sherrod Brown to take on Republican Jon Husted. Husted replaced Vice President JD Vance when he left his Senate seat for the White House.
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The race is considered one of the most consequential, as Democrats face an uphill battle to retake control of the Senate, which currently has a 53-47 Republican majority. Brown has long called himself an economic populist, able to transcend partisan lines, while Republican groups have vowed to spend heavily to defend Husted.
Also in the “Buckeye State,” Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy won the Republican nomination for governor. Ramaswamy, who had a brief tenure co-chairing Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) panel, will face Democrat Amy Acton, who led the state Department of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, in Indiana, Trump's continued influence over the Republican Party was evident, even as polls have seen his overall approval rating plunge in recent weeks amid economic uncertainty and the US-Israel war in Iran.
The US president had vowed to attack Republicans who rejected his calls for Indiana to redraw its congressional districts before the midterm elections. Indiana was one of the few Republican-controlled state legislatures to reject pressure from the president amid a broader wave of state redistricting.
Five of the state-level candidates Trump targeted subsequently lost their primaries on Tuesday. One candidate won and a race became too close to call.
State Sen. Linda Rogers, one of the ousted Republicans, said Trump's successful attempt to ruin her career sent a clear message to other members of the party who are considering opposing the president.
“If someone is going to ask you to take a difficult vote, you might want to think twice about your conscience and what's best for your community and instead think twice about what's best for you and your career,” he said.
The primaries come shortly before U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana, both Republicans, face tough primary challenges. Trump opposes both incumbents.
Massie has been one of the administration's most outspoken critics, particularly regarding the US-Israel war in Iran and the Justice Department's handling of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Cassidy had voted to impeach Trump in 2021 for his role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol and remained a critic throughout Trump's 2024 re-election campaign.
While Trump's influence remained strong in the Indiana primary, it does not necessarily spell Republican success in the general election.
Recent polls have shown declining support for Trump among independents, who are unaffiliated with either party and often serve as key swing factors in close races.
For example, a recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found that 63 percent of U.S. residents nationally place “a lot or a good deal of blame” on Trump for high gas prices. That rate was the same (63 percent) for independents.
